


A Late Night Flight

by AelinElentiya



Series: The Dreams That Are Answered [2]
Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Cute Kids, F/M, Family, Family Fluff, Flying, Future Fic, Kids, Wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-08-09 05:57:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7789327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AelinElentiya/pseuds/AelinElentiya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post ACOMAF-3: Future Fic.</p><p>While at the Summer Court to celebrate the Summer Solstice, Rhys catches his and Feyre's son, Kiran, about to go for a secret flight and decides to go with him. </p><p>Total fluff. Feysand Babies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Late Night Flight

A Late Night Flight  
By AelinElentiya 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was late, and Rhys was wide awake, even though he knew he should be asleep. Feyre was fast asleep at his side, exhausted from the evening’s festivities. Yesterday had been the Summer Solstice, and they had been invited to the celebration at the Summer Court. Tarquin had forgiven them long ago from stealing the Book from them, and the Summer Court and the Night Court had been strong allies during Hybern’s War. Twelve years later, they were still good friends, and visited each other frequently.  
This was the first year, however, that they’d brought their son, Kiran, to the Summer Solstice. They had taken him with them before when they travelled, but because he was only eight years old, he had never attended a Solstice—not in another Court, anyway. Their eldest daughter, Rhiannon, who was now eleven, had been to a couple of Solstices before, and Rhys still marvelled at how polite and charming and just all-around wonderful Rhiannon was. Kiran, however, still liked to get into trouble and seemed to have difficulty grasping the concept of sitting still or being quiet for long stretches—part of the reason Feyre was so tired was because she had spent most of the evening putting out the fires (literally) that Kiran started on accident, and trying to get him to stop running around like a maniac, though her efforts had been mostly unsuccessful. At home in Velaris, he spent most of his time with his cousin Nikolai, Cassian and Nesta’s son who was a year younger than him.  
Tarquin had met his mate in the beginning of the war—an Illyrian warrior female named Corinna—while he was visiting the Steppes to learn a few of their techniques. She was indeed a beautiful woman, one of the few trained warriors, and she fell in love with Tarquin quite quickly. Eight months later, at the end of the war, they were engaged, and married a year and a half after it. They had a daughter, Ariana, who was nine, and enjoyed getting into mischief with Kiran and Nikolai. Once those three were teamed up together, they were surely a force to be reckoned with. But their mothers had stopped trying to tame them the evening before, and after they’d nearly sent a poor servant flying, causing her to spill an entire tray of refreshments, they were sent off to a separate and empty area of the castle where they could play and cause as much trouble as they wanted (as long as nothing was set aflame) without disturbing the party.  
But that was several hours ago now, and the Night Court had been given rooms in the guest corridors—the same ones that they stayed in those many years ago. They could’ve winnowed home, perhaps, but it was too late and the distance too far to attempt flying, and Tarquin had suggested that they stay the night and have breakfast with them the next morning, and then they could leave. Rhiannon and Kiran had begged them to say yes, so they agreed, and now they, along with Nikolai, were asleep in the room across the hall—Cassian and Nesta were a few rooms down from them.  
Or at least, they were supposed to be sleeping. Rhys had been lying awake, attempting to sleep, when he felt a stir of magic across the hallway. Feyre did not wake as he slipped out of bed, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek, and he was careful not to make any noise as he walked to the door, eased it open, and then silently left the room.  
He stood outside the door to the children’s room for a few seconds, listening, and then, when he couldn’t hear a peep, he opened it, tiptoeing inside.  
Rhiannon was asleep on the single bed, a smile on her face and moonlight from the open window shining on her dark curls, making them gleam. She looked so much like Feyre, except that she had his hair and eyes—but her freckles, and her nose, and the shape of her face were her mother’s. His sister, Leila, had dark curls too, and sometimes, when she was a distance away and he didn’t see her face, it caught him off guard, and he would stand there, watching her. Even so many years later, there were moments when the grief hit him hard and sudden, and made his heart ache as though the pain were still fresh.  
“Sweet dreams, my princess,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He stood, and that was when he noticed that Kiran was not asleep in the top bunk as he was supposed to be, though Nikolai slept soundly on the bottom bunk. He’d attempted to make it look as though he was still in the bed, by putting a pillow under the blanket and making it look vaguely boy-shaped. Rhys remembered doing the same thing when he was a boy, and he tried not to smile.  
Kiran stood on the balcony, his little wings spread out behind him, and Rhys knew immediately what he was planning.  
Using his magic to turn himself mostly invisible, he crept silently out onto the balcony. The invisibility wasn’t really necessary, as Kiran was unlikely to know he was there anyways. He wasn’t as good at sensing magic as Rhiannon just yet. Rhys had fun sneaking up on him sometimes. Rhiannon always knew he was there, invisible or not, so he rarely caught her off guard. Ever since she was a baby, she had been extremely observant of detail, and always remained aware of her surroundings.  
A sneaky smile spread on Rhys’ lips as he materialized next to his son, and Kiran yelped in surprise when he saw him suddenly standing next to him, nearly falling over in fright. “Dad!” Kiran hissed. “You scared me!”  
“Sorry,” Rhys said, fighting laughter. “You know that you’re not supposed to go flying without your mother, myself, or Uncle Az.”  
Kiran sighed. “But, Dad. I want to fly,” he said. “I wanted to fly over the water. Ari says that it’s so cool to fly over the water, especially at night. She said I had to do it once.”  
Ariana had been lucky enough to inherit her mother’s wings. “Yes, it is. But Ariana has to fly with her mother, too. She’s not allowed to go alone, especially at night,” he said. Kiran looked down at his feet, a guilty look on his face.  
Rhys bit his lip, contemplating. How many nights had he wanted the same thing, at this age? To deny his son of that... He fought a sigh. “I’ll tell you what. We can go together, but only for a little bit, okay? You’ve already been up late, and your mother will never let me hear the end of it if you’re falling asleep over your breakfast because I took you flying again,” he said.  
Kiran looked up, his face brightening. “Really?” He asked, and Rhys nodded. “Okay. Just us, though?”  
Rhys looked into the bedroom, towards the sleeping Rhiannon. She would be upset if she learned that she’d missed flying over the ocean with them, but he would make it up to her somehow. “Just us,” he confirmed. “Ready?”  
Kiran nodded, and Rhys helped him up onto the balcony’s railing, and spread his own wings wide. “Okay. On the count of three,” he said.  
Three seconds later, they were off, flying through the air. Kiran's wings were so much smaller than his, and he couldn’t fly for very long yet, so Rhys made sure to stick close.  
They flew over the water, and Kiran laughed in delight, brushing his hands over the waves as they crossed them. He made little animals dance above the water with his magic, and Rhys smiled. He’d inherited magic from his parents, including the High Lord’s powers that his mother possessed. Rhys had been terrified when they figured it out, after Kiran nearly set his crib on fire at three months old because no one was coming to pick him up. They couldn’t nullify it either, since he was so young. But he had a siphon now that he was older, that controlled the magic. Thanks to his Illyrian blood, he’d been able to be matched with one. It took a few tries, but Rhys never felt such relief when he finally found one that worked. They were teaching him every day to control his powers, and Rhys knew that eventually, a single siphon wouldn’t be enough to keep all that power contained. So if he could release even a little bit of that magic into the water animals, then so be it.  
“Did you enjoy the Solstice tonight?” Rhys asked him while they flew.  
Kiran grinned. “It was awesome,” he said. “But I still like Starfall better.”  
Rhys laughed. “Me, too,” he said. “Maybe we’ll invite them all this year. I bet Ariana would be amazed.”  
“Ariana is amazed at pretty cakes,” Kiran said, rolling his eyes. “She’ll probably cry if she sees Starfall. Nikolai challenged her to a duel, you know, and said that she couldn’t fight in that frilly dress of hers.”  
“Did he now? I bet she didn’t like that,” Rhys said. Nikolai was definitely Cassian’s son. It sounded like something Cassian had said once, when they’d been young, to his sister. Leila had accepted the challenge, proceeding to pummel him until he was black and blue all over and managed not to get a single speck of dirt on her white dress. Cassian barely managed to get a single hit in.  
“She didn’t,” Kiran said. “They duelled, and Ari won. She didn’t even rip her dress, or ruin her hair. And Nikolai promised he was never gonna do that again.”  
Rhys laughed again. Then he felt a tremor of panic that belonged to Feyre, through the sliver in her mental shields that she kept open for him.  
_Rhys? Where are you? I can’t find Kiran—he’s not in his bed._  
He sent a calming stroke down the bond. _It’s alright, darling. Kiran’s with me. He wanted to see what it was like to fly at nighttime over the water. We’ll be back soon._  
He could almost see her sigh in relief. _Oh. Of course. I should’ve known. He’s just like his father,_ she teased. _Rhiannon will be disappointed that you didn’t take her, too._  
_I’ll make it up to Rhia_ , he promised his mate. _Go back to bed, love. I’ll be there soon._  
There was a gentle caress through the bond, like a mental kiss, and then it was silent in his head—although he could still feel her.  
Kiran was starting to look tired, fighting to keep his eyes open. “Are you finally tired?” Rhys asked.  
“M’fine,” he yawned. “I can... make it back.”  
But his eyes started to droop, and he faltered in his flight. Rhys grabbed him before he could fall, his arms wrapped tight around his waist. “It’s alright, Ren,” he murmured. “I’ve got you.”  
Kiran was asleep before he reached the balcony. He smiled to himself, remembering the countless times he had done the same thing when flying with his mother. It was part of the reason that she had forbade him flying alone at night, and why he did the same with his son. Rhiannon had not received Illyrian wings, but she could shape-shift wings for herself. She was still practicing flying with them, and sometimes had a bit of difficult, but she loved to fly, and took every opportunity to do so.  
Rhys landed on the balcony, and properly lifted Kiran into his arms, carrying him into the room. Nikolai and Rhiannon were both still sleeping, and he was careful not to make too much noise as he gently lay Kiran back in his bed, and pulled the blanket over him.  
“Sleep well, my little warrior,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to his golden-brown hair. Rhiannon might have shared his looks, but Kiran had his mothers face. Except for his eyes. They both had violet eyes, a fact that had delighted Feyre when they were born.  
He made sure to close the doors leading out to the balcony, and checked to make sure that Rhiannon was covered, and then he left the room.

 

A few moments later, he slipped into bed next to Feyre, who had fallen asleep again. He smiled down at her, at this beautiful woman that he was lucky enough to call not only his mate and queen, but also his wife and the mother of his children. Sometimes he still couldn’t believe that he had gotten that lucky—that she was his.  
But she was, and he would spend every day for the rest of his life making sure she knew how precious she was to him.  
So he pulled her into his arms, and held her until he, too, fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

>  _Name Meanings_
> 
> Rhiannon ( _) Welsh (_ Sanskrit Ray/beam of light 
> 
> Nikolai _Greek_ victorious people 
> 
> Ariana _Greek_ lion of god


End file.
